While none of what Francis said was particularly surprising, we did take away that this was a difficult decision for the always cautious and guarded GM, and we aren’t convinced he wanted to make this move but may have felt he had no choice based on how the season played out. Francis indicated that he didn’t make his final decision until Sunday and met with Hakstol to inform him on Monday morning in Seattle, calling it “an extremely sad day.”
#SeaKraken Ron Francis said he didn’t come to this final decision to move on from Dave Hakstol until yesterday.
“It’s never an easy day, it’s never an easy decision,” Francis said. “We let a guy who’s a good coach and a really good person go, and it’s not easy. But, you know, looking at the organization and just looking at the season, I thought we were a little more inconsistent than we had been, a few too many losing streaks, and losing streaks of significant numbers. And so we just felt it was time to try a new voice here.”
Francis made it clear he didn’t think everything that happened this season was Hakstol’s fault. Instead, he commended the coach for his “thorough” approach and reiterated that there were externalities that were outside of Hakstol’s control.
“We had guys that had off seasons, we had guys that missed a lot of time, so there were a lot of challenges to the roster as well.”
Where do the Kraken go from here?
One thing this move does is crank up the heat on Francis to find success next season. Historically, a GM tends to get one coach firing before the attention turns in their direction. Francis has shown he is taking a slower “build from within” type of approach, which eventually worked in Carolina after he left there. It’s a good approach for the long-term health of the organization, but will Seattle’s ownership be patient enough to let some of Francis’ draft picks arrive and become impact players? Or will there be more pressure moving forward to contend?
So, while we think Hakstol was a fine first pick, the next hiring needs to be the perfect fit, and it needs to be somebody who can move the needle right away. Francis said the process to find that next bench boss starts immediately, but there’s no “definite timeline” for a hiring.
In our previous article about the firing, we threw out a few names we thought could be candidates to replace Hakstol, and we did ask Francis what attributes he thought were important, but he declined to fully comment on that.
“If I answer that question, it’s going to be tied to ‘this is what I didn’t think Dave was doing,’ so I’d rather not do that at this point.”
Fair enough. If we were to guess what the team will be looking for moving forward, it will be somebody who can be a players’ coach, one who fits into the dressing room and can have strong relationships with the players. The next coach needs to be able to hold players accountable while showing fairness in approach (meaning, if a player is playing, they get rewarded, and vice versa).
We also do not think the head coach is the only “change” this organization will need. The team announced this morning that assistant coach Paul McFarland will also not return. And Francis mentioned the roster on many occasions Monday, He said in clear terms, “We have to make some changes to the roster and try and get back to where we want to get to next season.”
How the roster changes look remain to be seen, but there’s no doubt Francis will try to uncover some scoring from elsewhere in the league this summer.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
The Seattle Kraken have relieved Dave Hakstol of his head coaching duties, the team announced on Monday.
“I thank Dave for his hard work and dedication to the Kraken franchise,” said Kraken general manager Ron Francis via a press release. “Following our end-of-the-season review, we have decided to make a change at our head coach position. These decisions are never easy, but we feel that this is a necessary step to help ensure our team continues to improve and evolve. Dave is a good coach and a terrific person. We wish him and his family all the best. We will begin our search for the Kraken’s next head coach immediately.”
The team also announced that assistant coach Paul McFarland will not return.
Over the past week, it became clear that Francis was considering making a change behind the bench. The potential for such a move came into focus when at his end-of-season presser—which he performed solo, instead of with Hakstol by his side like last season—Francis skirted around a real answer on whether Hakstol would be back for 2024-25.
“It’s part of the process we go through now, right?” Francis said. “Meeting with the coaching staff, the management team, all that stuff, and assessing, and so we’re still in that process now.”
That sparked speculation amongst local media about the future of the only head coach the Kraken organization has ever had.
Hakstol’s tenure ended after 246 regular-season games behind the bench, plus 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He had a 107-112-27 record and most notably led his team to an unprecedented turnaround between the first and second seasons in franchise history with a 40-point improvement from 2021-22 to 2022-23.
That got the Kraken into the playoffs last season, where they defeated the defending champion Colorado Avalanche in seven games before coming up one game shy of the Western Conference Finals, losing to Dallas in a heartbreaking Game 7. Hakstol was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year after that run but lost out to Boston’s Jim Montgomery.
Things went in the opposite direction this season, and the Kraken took a step back, finishing well outside of the playoff picture with 81 points, a 19-point drop from 2022-23. They had a legitimate chance to qualify as late March, but a slow start to the season, no scoring punch, and several long losing streaks ultimately did Seattle in
Unfortunately for Hakstol, this was necessary
Through most of the season, I denied the plausibility of such a firing, largely because general manager Ron Francis signed Hakstol to a two-year contract extension prior to this season. That deal starts next season, so with Hakstol getting the pink slip now, Seattle is on the hook to pay him for two more years (unless it can work out some contract-sharing deal with a different team that might hire him in the future).
Even so, as the campaign unfolded, and the players began mailing it in down the stretch, the writing on the wall got bolder and bolder. In the past week, I became certain that a change was coming.
Speaking personally, I wasn’t rooting for this, because I’ve genuinely enjoyed my interactions with Dave Hakstol. He has never been anything other than respectful and professional toward me, and he has answered every one of my questions over the last three seasons with grace and thoughtfulness, even when I asked stupid ones.
Heck, Hakstol even played along with some of my more outlandish questions, like when I went down a rabbit hole asking him about his favorite Sarah McLachlan songs. That’s a story for another day, but the point is that I’m sad to see Hakstol go. He’s a good man that I think deserved better from his team this season.
Every NHL player and coach will tell you, though, that this is a results-driven business. Hakstol was no longer getting the results his GM expected, and a change became necessary.
The search for Hakstol’s replacement starts now
If Hakstol’s arrival in Seattle was any indication of how the team’s search for its next head coach will go, then don’t expect to hear much official news about candidates.
Remember, when Hakstol was hired, people were widely reporting that Rick Tocchet was set to become the head coach, only for the official announcement to come out with Dave Hakstol’s name on it a couple days later. At that point, no hockey pundits on the planet had even mentioned Hakstol’s name as a candidate, and I genuinely believe that his ability to keep his interviews quiet played into his hiring by the very secretive Francis.
So, I’m very much speculating here on who I think the top candidates will be, but these are a few educated guesses.
Dan Bylsma
Coach Dan is perhaps the most obvious candidate to take over the helm. The current coach of the Coachella Valley Firebirds has worked wonders with Seattle’s AHL affiliate and brings the pedigree of winning a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
Disco Dan is well known by pretty much everyone in the organization, and from what I’ve gathered, players seem to really enjoy playing for him.
I interviewed Bylsma along with the late, great Andy Eide at Kraken Community Iceplex before last season for the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. Give that a listen here to get to know Bylsma’s personality a bit (and hear from Andy again).
Bylsma has a 320-190-55 record in the NHL, has led a dominant Firebirds team to a regular-season record of 94-32-11-7 over the past two seasons, and came one game shy of the Calder Cup in 2022-23.
Dean Evason
Dean Evason may not be quite as familiar to Kraken fans, but he and Francis go way back.
Evason is a successful, fiery, and often quirky coach that has been friends with Francis since his playing days. The two played together on the Hartford Whalers from the 1984-85 season until Francis was traded to Pittsburgh in March, 1991.
Evason, 59, spent parts of five seasons as bench boss of the Minnesota Wild after initially getting hired there as an assistant coach in 2018. He was elevated to interim head coach on Feb. 14, 2020, and had success down the stretch that season, guiding his new team to a 8-4-0 record in the final 12 games of the regular season before it lost 3-1 in the play-in round of the modified COVID bubble playoffs.
Wild general manager Bill Guerin was so pleased with the job Evason had done under the circumstances, he removed the interim tag the following offseason and officially made Evason an NHL head coach for the first time in his career. Evason rewarded Guerin with .670, .689, and .628 seasons, good for two third-place finishes and one second-place finish in the Central Division. The Wild lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of those three seasons.
With Evason still at the helm to start the 2023-24 campaign, Minnesota got off to a dreadful start, and he was fired one day after his team lost its seventh game in a row on Nov. 26, replaced immediately by John Hynes.
Evason has reportedly been interviewing already with the Ottawa Senators.
Rod Brind’Amour
This one feels like a stretch, but I’m throwing it out there. If Rod Brind’Amour becomes available this offseason, he will be at the top of every coaching candidate list in the NHL. His contract is up after this season, and getting him signed the last time around proved difficult for the always cost-conscious Tom Dundon, owner of the Carolina Hurricanes.
A deal eventually got done last time, and Brind’Amour is a legend in the Hurricanes organization, so I’m guessing another extension will come soon.
If no deal comes to fruition, though, you don’t have to look far to find connections between Francis and Brind’Amour.
*Author’s note: I initially ended my list here, but a couple other names got thrown at me that I thought were worth including.
Jay Woodcroft
“Woody,” as he’s known, coached parts of the last three seasons with the Edmonton Oilers before being canned after just 13 games this season. Ironically, I attended what I believe was Woodcroft’s last press availability before his firing, because Edmonton pulled the trigger the morning after the Oilers beat the Kraken 4-1 at Climate Pledge Arena on Nov. 11.
At the time, Edmonton had a horrendous 3-9-1 record, and they proved to be one of the best teams in the league under his successor, Kris Knoblauch.
Still, the Oilers were awesome in Woodcroft’s lone full season, and finished with 109 points before getting bounced in the second round by the eventual champion Vegas Golden Knights.
Despite the bad start to this season, Woodcroft still ended his tenure with an impressive 79-41-13 record and (from what I gathered) seemed to be well liked by his players.
Jay Leach
What about Leachy? We have heard whispers that Leach, the well-loved defensive coach for the Kraken, has been close to landing an NHL head-coaching job in the past couple seasons. We’ve also heard Seattle defensemen rave about what Leach has done to help shape their games.
Leach has served as an assistant coach for Seattle for the past three seasons and spent the previous four as the head coach of the Providence Bruins of the AHL.
Craig Berube
Craig Berube’s name is also out there as a potential for head-coaching vacancies, although I’m not sure I see the fit here. We do think more of a “players coach” will be hired by Seattle, and the gruff Stanley Cup winner does not seem to fit that mold, from what I know about him.
Who else am I missing?
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
I assure you, there will be extensive analysis of the Seattle Kraken’s performance throughout the 2023-24 season in the coming days, weeks, and months. We’ll delve deeper into what went wrong and speculate on offseason plans starting this week.
My mind is filled with topics to investigate and evaluate. Each investigation takes me down a different rabbit hole, and these don’t always yield findings worth sharing, so it will take me time to get through these. In the meantime, I thought I would wrap up the season with a final ‘Monday Musings.’
Injuries
Injuries were mentioned a couple of times during the season-ending press availabilities, and they truly took a toll on Seattle’s performance throughout the year. While maladies were a constant presence, we may not have fully grasped the extent of the challenge they presented this season for the Kraken.
Injuries are a part of the game, and the team faced a few last season as well. It’s hard to compare how this season’s man-games lost relates with last season or with other teams because of players on LTIR (Chris Driedger was included in Seattle’s man-games lost in 2022-23 but was replaced by Martin Jones).
Regardless, the above chart gives a good feel for just how much hockey was missed by key players. Due to turnover on the goal-scoring fourth line, the margin for error became much narrower this season. So in a season where goal-scoring was a challenge, the extended absences of Andre Burakovsky, Jaden Schwartz, and Vince Dunn had a significantly greater impact compared to the 2022-23 season.
Watching the playoffs though a Kraken lens
During Saturday night’s playoff game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, I sent out a tongue-in-cheek tweet suggesting Mitch Marner could be traded to Seattle. While a Marner trade would be a long shot, these are the types of scenarios that general manager Ron Francis could be considering during the offseason. Players entering the last year of their contract, with several quality years left in their career, may become targets—especially those unlikely to re-sign with their current team or in situations where the current club is seeking change. Marner is just one example of the type of player Francis could be exploring.
As I watch every second of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I also find myself keeping an eye on pending free agents who might fit into the Kraken’s lineup next season. In my opinion, signing the top free agents with lengthy contracts isn’t ideal, as they often don’t age well. Instead, the team needs a reliable goal scorer who can commit to a shorter contract of two or three years while the prospect pool matures. Among the players I’ve observed in the playoffs who fit this criteria are Tyler Toffoli, Anthony Duclair, and Jake DeBrusk. All three of them possess goal-scoring abilities and would be valuable additions to help address the team’s pressing need for scoring.
Thoughts on the new TV deal
The feedback and thoughts about the new Kraken TV partnership with TEGNA (KING 5/KONG) and Amazon Prime Video have been overwhelmingly positive. This partnership will remove significant financial barriers for fans to enjoy Kraken games. I’ve received numerous texts from Kraken fans expressing excitement about finally being able to watch locally broadcasted games.
However, a couple of fans raised legitimate questions. For instance, how will people in Idaho and Montana watch the games? The Kraken’s press release specifically mentioned availability in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, suggesting that Idaho and Montana may not have local broadcast access via over-the-air or Amazon Prime Video.
We asked about this and were told that viewers in those states can subscribe to ESPN+ to watch games as “out of market” fans.
Another question is whether Amazon Prime Video will offer the capability to start games on a delay. Not everyone can make it home for a 4 pm start for games on the East Coast and might prefer a ‘start from the beginning’ option. While this feature is standard for many streaming services, Amazon’s first-time regional game broadcast could see some evolution in capabilities.
Regarding replays, will they be available on Amazon Prime Video immediately or will fans need to wait 48 hours as with ESPN+? NFL game replays on Prime Video are typically available right away, but it’s uncertain whether the same will apply to these games.
We have also asked about the ‘DVR’ functionality and will pass along what we hear back.
Fans have also asked about pre- and post-game shows. How will these be presented, and will Piper Shaw be joining the team? Imagine a world without #TheExperience!
This transition in distribution is a significant undertaking, and I anticipate there may be some initial challenges. Let’s all practice patience as the Kraken work to develop this new solution.
Other Musings
In case you missed it, the Kraken signed Carson Rehkopf, one of their second-round selections from last year’s draft, after his Kitchener Rangers squad was eliminated from the OHL playoffs. He will be joining the Coachella Valley Firebirds for their playoff run.
With the signing of Rehkopf, Oscar Fisker-Mølgaard remains as the last unsigned second-round pick from last year’s draft. Expect him to join the Denmark national team at the IIHF World Championship in Czechia.
The Kraken will have strong representation at the upcoming World Championship, starting May 10, as announced by Ron Francis in his postseason press availability. Players such as Jared McCann, Brandon Tanev, Jamie Oleksiak, Andre Burakovsky, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Philipp Grubauer, and Tomas Tatar will be playing for their respective countries.
Although it feels like ages ago, I was deeply moved watching the final Arizona Coyotes game at Mullett Arena. When I started NHLtoSeattle some 14 years ago, the possibility of the Coyotes relocating to Seattle was often discussed. I vividly recall texting with the prospective ownership group on the night of the Glendale vote in 2013. It wasn’t something I was rooting for, but I was certainly keeping a close eye on it. There were incredibly dedicated fans there, and I hope the NHL returns to Arizona soon.
The Coyotes have made the playoffs only once since the NHL-owned team reached the Western Conference Final in 2012.
Here’s an interesting tidbit I came across recently: During the 2023-24 season, the Kraken had 15 fighting majors. Interestingly, seven out of the nine teams with fewer fighting majors than the Kraken are currently in the playoffs.
Get Off My Lawn
With the significant news of the Seattle Kraken moving on from ROOT Sports, I began researching streaming options. The top two choices for my needs are YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, with Hulu + Live TV being the favorite due to its bundle options with ESPN+. However, a major drawback with either option is the inability to add the NHL Network.
For passionate hockey fans like myself, the NHL Network offers 24/7 hockey content and serves as the home for events like the U18’s, Women’s Worlds, Men’s World Juniors, and Rivalry Series games. The only alternative streaming option would be Sling, but adding the NHL Network requires subscribing to the Orange package (~$40) and then purchasing the ‘Sports Extra’ add-on for an additional $10, totaling an extra $50 per month. That’s a bit steep for just adding the NHL Network, so I’ll pass on that option.
NHL Network distribution options, get off my lawn.
Down on the Farm
The Coachella Valley Firebirds earned a first-round bye in the Calder Cup Playoffs, and their second-round matchup is now set against the Calgary Wranglers. The series will follow a five-game format with the first two games scheduled in Calgary and the next three in Coachella Valley. This two-three format is often used to reduce travel costs when teams are geographically distant. Similarly, Abbotsford and Ontario are adopting a similar format for their series. I don’t love it for the Firebirds’ sake, since it feels like a disadvantage to open the series on the road.
Here is the schedule:
In case you missed it, early last week the Kraken and Firebirds announced that prospects Carson Rehkopf, David Goyette, Caden Price, Kaden Hammell, Andrei Loshko, and Eduard Šalé would be joining the Firebirds. Most of these guys will not get into any playoff games and are just around to absorb the pro atmosphere. But don’t be surprised if a couple of them get into a few games. Last season, Goyette ended up playing seven AHL playoff games after his junior season ended. Jagger Firkus and Jacob Melanson also got into one AHL playoff game each last season.
Speaking of Firkus, he will not be joining the Firebirds, since his Moose Jaw Warriors are still going and are knotted up at one game apiece against the Saskatoon Blades in Round 3 of the WHL Playoffs. On the other side of the WHL playoff bracket, Tyson Jugnauth and the Portland Winterhawks are tied 1-1 in their series with Prince George. Meanwhile, Ty Nelson of the North Bay Battalion is the only Kraken prospect still playing in the OHL playoffs.
You Don’t See That Every Day
This happened a while ago, but any time you see a goalie goal, you share it.
This is just a friendly reminder that the Kraken still have more playoff wins in the last three seasons than Vancouver.
Thank you all for reading and engaging with the Musings this season. It has been a rewarding routine that sparked discussions about the highlights and challenges of the Kraken’s season. Your thoughtful interactions in the comments section have been enriching and sometimes challenging, expanding my perspective and prompting me to reconsider my assumptions. Once again, thank you!
I have a substantial backlog of areas to investigate, but if you have any thoughts or ideas, please share them in the comments section.
Welcome back! We’re continuing on with our end-of-season Kraken Roundtable series, which we launched last week. This week, we’re getting a bit more tactical with our discussion to understand the missteps of the Seattle Kraken in 2023-24 and to look ahead to the offseason.
In this one, Blaiz Grubic, John Barr, and Darren Brown teamed up to give their thoughts.
Enjoy!
What went wrong
Darren – I’m going to get a little “hot takey” with this one, but the obvious issue for the team was scoring. We’ve talked ad nauseam about how the fourth line took a step back, but as the offensive woes dragged on throughout the season, I thought the Kraken missed the likes of Daniel Sprong and Morgan Geekie (and to a lesser degree Ryan Donato) more and more. There were so many times last season where the top two lines couldn’t score, and then all of a sudden, the fourth line would chip one in and get things going. Scoring is contagious, and when you only have a few guys that can put the puck in the net, slumps can sweep through the entire roster.
Blaiz – The Kraken could not get key wins when they needed them. During the Thanksgiving break, the Kraken held onto the second wild card spot and looked poised to turn the corner, but instead, they came back from the break with an eight-game losing streak. This losing streak included losses to bottom dwellers Ottawa, Chicago, and Montreal.
Later in the season, just before the All-Star break, the Kraken laid an egg against San Jose. A win that night would have put them in a tie for the final wild card spot, but they instead went into the hiatus on a three-game losing streak. The final gasp was the loss to Vegas on March 3 at home, when they blew a two-goal lead in the third period and lost in overtime. Following the Vegas loss, the Kraken could not break the cycle and rattled off seven more losses, essentially eliminating themselves from playoff contention.
John – I’ve mentioned it before, but for me, it was the way the season started that put the Kraken at a severe disadvantage. They scored one goal or less in five of their first six games, setting a challenging tone for the rest of the season. While they flirted with a playoff position at times, they consistently took a step back whenever they got close to solidifying themselves as a contending team.
Pleasant surprise
John – The goaltending performance this year was excellent. The team finished ninth in the league in save percentage overall, but since Dec. 1, the Kraken ranked third in the entire NHL. Given the challenges the goaltending position has presented in the first two seasons, this improvement was quite surprising. Joey Daccord really stepped up when the team needed a boost, especially highlighted by his performance in the Winter Classic. Additionally, Philipp Grubauer showed great consistency in the second half of the season, which bodes well for the team heading into next season.
Blaiz – The Kraken recently announced that most Kraken regular-season games will be broadcast on King/Kong and Prime Video, removing the need for an expensive cable/streaming TV package. This will allow fans to watch the Kraken for free and help continue to grow the fanbase for the Seattle Kraken. What a pleasant surprise!
Darren – I shouldn’t have been surprised by this, but I was a little surprised at how good Shane Wright looked in his call-up at the end of the season. He truly looked like a different player. For some reason, I expected him to come back up and still appear a little behind at the NHL level, but he showed me he is ready to make the team next season and potentially be an impactful player. That was exciting to see.
Reason to be optimistic
John – I believe the greatest strength of this franchise lies in its prospect pool, extending far beyond Coachella Valley. Numerous Kraken prospects playing in juniors or European leagues have been excelling in their respective teams.
Across the pond, Jani Nyman concluded the Liiga season in Finland by earning the Red Bull helmet, awarded to the top goal scorer under 20 years old. Oscar Fisker-Molgaard, drafted in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, saw significant ice time as a second-line center in the Swedish Hockey League, one of the world’s premier leagues. Additionally, Niklas Kokko has served as the starting goalie for Pelicans, currently competing in the Liiga finals.
In the CHL, Carson Rehkopf, a 2023 second-round selection, capped off his OHL season with an impressive 52 goals. David Goyette, drafted in 2022’s second round, led the OHL in points. Meanwhile, Jagger Firkus dominated the WHL with an astonishing 61 goals and 126 points.
Blaiz – Andre Burakovsky had a terrible year with 16 points in 49 games. The Swedish winger is too talented to continue to remain off the scoresheet. I wrote about Burakovsky’s struggles earlier this year. Burakovsky was able to finish the season playing 22 games straight without injury and scored six of his seven goals during that stretch. Hopefully with some stable linemates, he can return to his offensive self and be a strong contributor to fixing the Kraken’s scoring woes.
Darren – In that same realm, Blaiz, it was good to see Matty Beniers get going a little more toward the end of the season. He’s still very slight in stature, so I’m interested to see what he can do with a full offseason of training. Can he put on some weight this summer and come back more prepared to handle the physical nature of the NHL?
I’m also excited about what this team might do to improve this offseason. It has cap space and an improving prospect pool, plus plenty of motivation to get better. When you look at how this season played out, Seattle is not that far from being a scary team again, but it will need an injection of offense from the front office. These should be a few interesting months ahead.
Reason to be pessimistic
John – It’s highly unlikely that Tomas Tatar, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Kailer Yamamoto, and Justin Schultz will return to the Kraken next season. I expect Shane Wright to claim one of the vacated spots and Ryker Evans to become a regular in the lineup next season. This leaves only one starting forward position available, and it’s unclear whether one new addition to the lineup can make a significant impact on such a key position.
Blaiz – There could still be a lack of scoring next season. I was glad to see general manager Ron Francis acknowledge this issue in his end-of-season presser. There are many players that scored below their career averages this year, although next season, Burakovsky, Beniers, and Jaden Schwartz should rebound a bit and add somewhere between 18 and 23 goals. The prospect pool is impressive, but those players are also not fully baked, and outside of Wright, the prospects are all still one-to-two seasons out. It would be a nice surprise if one of them could contribute meaningfully to the Kraken scoring, but that is a lot to put on any rookie.
Darren – It was painfully obvious to me that the Kraken needed to add a weapon or two last offseason, and I would argue they iced a significantly worse roster this season. I’m just afraid Francis might be a little too cautious for his own good again this summer at a time when some bigger swings feel necessary.
Prospect you are most excited about
Blaiz – Shane Wright has been the prospect I am most excited about since Seattle drafted him fourth overall in 2022. Due to his lost season during the pandemic, Wright was developmentally one year behind Beniers when he was drafted. Now with the two years under his belt in the Kraken development system, Wright looks poised to make the jump full-time to the Kraken. My hot take is Wright will be the Kraken first-line center within the next three years. This is nothing against Beniers, who I think will also rebound and continue to develop next year, but the offensive ceiling is higher for Wright. I am super excited to have Beniers and Wright be the Kraken’s one-two punch for years to come.
Darren – Yeah, Wright is the obvious answer here, and you may be onto something with him as the top center. Either way, Beniers and Wright should serve as a very nice top-two center duo a couple seasons from now. BUT… since you went with Wright, I’ll go in a different direction here and say Jani Nyman (leaving Carson Rehkopf for you, John). I think Nyman will need a year in the AHL to work on his skating and getting used to the North American game, but his size and shot are pretty exciting attributes. If he can get a little faster working with Jess Campbell, I think he could be a player in a couple years.
John – I am excited about Shane, but I am particularly enthusiastic about Rehkopf (thanks for the layup, Darren). I’ve been consistently impressed by his knack for scoring goals from all areas of the ice throughout the season. He appears to be one of the most talented shooters ever in the Kraken’s prospect pool. In my view, the Kraken should seriously consider giving him an opportunity to make the team next season. At the very least, he deserves a chance to start the season with the team and play some regular-season NHL games.
The Seattle Kraken season is finally over, and there’s a LOT to unpack on this week’s episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast.
First, the guys break down the locker clean out days, including Ron Francis’ end-of-season availability. They also discuss the recent news of the Kraken moving their TV broadcast to an “over-the-air” option.
Then, John and Darren interview Troy Bodie and discuss his career, Kraken prospects, and what to look forward to for the Coachella Valley Firebirds as they head to the playoffs.
The Seattle Kraken will have a new TV broadcast home for the foreseeable future, the team announced Thursday morning. After three seasons with ROOT Sports as the flagship television network for the team, the Kraken will partner with TEGNA (KING 5 and KONG) in a “multi-year agreement.” All games that haven’t been picked up for national coverage will be viewable on KONG, and a handful of games will also be simulcast on KING 5.
Additionally, the team has entered into a new first-of-its-kind partnership with Prime Video, which will allow streaming of all locally broadcasted games to Prime members for no additional cost.
These new deals should make games more accessible for local viewers, who will now be able to watch Kraken hockey “over the air,” even without a cable subscription (a simple cheap antenna should get you access to both KING 5 and KONG), or with a more economical streaming option than before.
“ROOT has been a terrific partner for us; we have appreciated their support as we determined our broadcast plans moving forward,” said Kraken owner, Sam Holloway in a press release. “Today’s announcement is a game changer for our fans. Our goal is to increase the ways they can watch our games – whether they’re cheering us on at home or on the go. To have both TEGNA and Prime Video as trusted partners is a dream come true. I can’t wait for more fans to fall in love with Kraken hockey.”
The viewing area for both the over-the-air option and the streaming option will cover Washington, Oregon, and Alaska (KGW in Portland and KREM in Spokane will carry the games, since KONG and KING 5 are not readily available in those markets).
Why move away from ROOT?
The broadcast team at ROOT did a fantastic job. We’ve watched plenty of local broadcasts from other markets, and we can honestly say (biases aside) that the Kraken broadcast has been one of, if not the best in the business over the past three seasons.
But there were barriers for fans or potential fans to access games on TV, and limited streaming options made games on ROOT difficult to find without some sort of significant financial investment from viewers.
The content wasn’t the issue. The issue was simply that for fans to watch ROOT, they not only needed a cable subscription like Xfinity, they also got an added kick recently of having to pay even more for an elevated tier to access the sports network.
For those that had switched out of cable, Fubo TV was a fine solution, but to get ROOT, “cord cutters” still had to pay north of $100 per month.
Now, there are more economical (and even free) options available to viewers, a huge win for Kraken fans.
What’s happening with the broadcast team?
Up to now, games have been produced mostly by ROOT employees and/or contractors, with some Kraken personnel factoring in. Moving forward, production of the games will not be handed over to TEGNA, though their employees will certainly be involved.
Instead, a lot of the production will now be done “in house” by the Kraken, meaning more of the individuals working on the show will be team employees, and they will use some of TEGNA’s existing infrastructure. This is a shift from how things were being done previously and (we assume) gives the team a bit more control over branding, graphics, visuals, etc.
The difficult piece here is that there are good people at ROOT who did a great job on broadcasts for three seasons that are now facing uncertainty. On the flipside, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Kraken hire some of these individuals who have already been part of the show.
As for the on-air broadcast team, all the Kraken employees that you became accustomed to seeing will be around next season. So, we expect John Forslund, Eddie Olczyk, JT Brown, Alison Lukan, and Nick Olczyk to continue participating in 2024-25.
Other on-air personalities that appeared on games previously are ROOT employees, including Piper Shaw. Currently, there isn’t much that we can share on this front.
Good news for Kraken fans
Whichever way you slice it, this is a positive move for Kraken fans. Our hope is that it will truly allow the team to reach more new fans and get hooks into more casual fans to turn them into diehards. The franchise has done a solid job of building its brand locally, but we have wondered about the true reach beyond the Seattle metro area. This is a huge shift that should really help on this front.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Hi all! Darren Brown here. Our wonderful photographer, Brian Liesse, graciously put together a collection of his favorite photos from the 2023-24 season, and we are thrilled to share them with you here.
Please note that these photos are property of Sound Of Hockey and cannot be reused.
If you were expecting fireworks from the Seattle Kraken’s end-of-season locker cleanout days, you may have been disappointed. While there were plenty of interesting tidbits to be gleaned from what was said by the players and head coach Dave Hakstol on Saturday and general manager Ron Francis on Monday, no official bombs have been dropped at this point.
Coming in, we were at least half expecting some sort of big personnel-related news, seeing as things went sideways for this club, which couldn’t score its way out of a paper bag and finished 19 standings points worse than last season.
But, the always cautious and taciturn Ron Francis continued to slow play any adjustments while also not ruling them out.
The future of the coaching staff
While we weren’t *certain* changes to the coaching staff would come, we also wouldn’t have been shocked if something like this came out over the past couple of days.
Our spidey senses had been piqued for a couple of reasons. First, there is a precedent of changes to the coaching staff being announced in this setting. Two seasons ago, after the Kraken had dreadfully bad goaltending in their inaugural campaign, Francis announced at his end-of-season presser that goalie coach Andrew Allen would not return in that role (though Allen has remained on staff with Seattle as a pro scout). So, another such announcement after the Kraken failed to live up to expectations in 2023-24 wouldn’t have surprised us.
The other thing that made us wonder if there was a personnel-related announcement coming was Francis doing his availability solo. This doesn’t sound like that big of a thing, but Francis and Hakstol spoke with the media together as a united front last season, after the team reached the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and came up one goal shy of the Western Conference Final.
This season, Hakstol spoke after the players on Saturday, and Francis spoke alone on Monday. Was there something to that slight procedural change?
Francis was asked about the coaching staff, and he stopped short of any definitive declarations.
“It’s part of the process we go through now, right?” Francis said. “Meeting with the coaching staff, the management team, all that stuff, and assessing, and so we’re still in that process now.”
Francis then spoke at length about the many injuries the team sustained this season, and implied that those were being factored into any decisions the team is still making.
When asked specifically about Hakstol’s future with the organization, Francis said, “Well, you’re going to read into it one way or the other, but this is the process we do every year, and that’s what we’re doing right now.”
So, that’s not exactly a resounding, ‘Yes, Dave Hakstol will be the head coach of the Seattle Kraken next season,’ but it’s also not a, ‘We’re moving on from Dave Hakstol’ type of response either.
Hearing Hakstol on Saturday, he sounded generally disappointed with the result of the season, but he also did not sound like a coach that expected to be terminated. Instead, Hakstol spoke a lot about his conversations with players and how he was pleased with their reactions to not making the playoffs.
“Most of the player meetings have been really good,” Hakstol said. “Just straight up, honest discussions, not necessarily individually based. We’ve got some really smart guys, we’ve got some great veterans, and everybody cares a lot. So today is… as we gain perspective, it’s also Day 1 or Day 2 of working toward solving some of the issues that lead to some inconsistencies.”
Reading the tea leaves, we truly don’t think anything has been decided on the coaching staff just yet. It’s entirely possible that the whole crew returns next season, but there is due diligence being done by the front office right now to help them make those calls.
Worth noting, we did ask defenseman Vince Dunn about how the message from the coaches was landing with the team in the later stages of the season, and here is what he said:
“I thought we responded to what they said the same way throughout the whole year. I think there’s only so much a coach can say, realistically. If you want to point fingers around the room, and it’s easy to do, it ultimately comes down to the guys in the dressing room, and we’re the ones out there that need to do what it takes to win. I think there’s obviously moments in the season where there’s tension between players and everything, with so many distractions and outside noise and so much pressure when it’s time to push for the playoffs. And the messages are very direct and very intense, but by no means was the dressing room lost.”
While no announcement of personnel changes has come yet, we still would not be shocked to see something happen on this front in the coming weeks.
Injury updates
Seattle finally got mostly healthy toward the end of the season, but Dunn, arguably the team’s best player, missed all but two games from March 4 onward after a very dirty hit by Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil.
WHAT IS WITH THIS POSPISIL KID?!
Now he blows up Vince Dunn from behind and sends him head-first into the dasher board.
Dunn declined on Saturday to tell us what the injury was, but Francis said Monday that it was a neck injury. On the plus side, Dunn did imply that he was close to 100 percent, but that the injury was one he didn’t want to “mess with.” So, we would expect him to be fully healthy in time for training camp.
Jared McCann missed a few days toward the end of the season but returned for the last couple games. He said he is fully healthy and will join Team Canada for the upcoming IIHF World Championship.
Francis also revealed that Jordan Eberle broke his hand early in the season in his lone fight of the year, after Logan O’Connor of the Colorado Avalanche made him “answer the bell” for injuring Andrew Cogliano in the playoffs last season. Eberle played through the injury.
Shane Wright talk
Both Francis and Hakstol spoke highly of top prospect Shane Wright and his recent stint with the team in which he racked up five points (4-1—5) in five games between April 1 and April 11 before returning to Coachella Valley.
Here’s what Dave Hakstol said:
“Really positive performances for Shane in his games with us here at the end of the season. The offensive piece is an easy one again to evaluate, and he produced there. He produced on a consistent basis, and he looked like he was ready to do it, right? Some of the goals that he scored, they were National Hockey League goals. They were inside, they were on and off his tape, so very, very positive in that sense. Some of the other growth is a little bit harder to evaluate through stats, but things you can see with your eyes, he’s much more comfortable with the puck on his tape in tight spaces, getting us out of our zone, really a ton of advancement in his game defensively, positionally, from stick detail to positioning of his feet, his body. So, we saw some great growth in his game.”
And Ron Francis:
“In Shane’s case, I’ve always seen things in his game that we like. I think he’s come a long way in his development. I think he’s much more confident, I think he’s having fun again playing the game, and the stint he had up here, I’m not sure it could have went much better other than if he got the hat trick in Anaheim, then it would be really good… We see a bright future for Shane in the organization. I don’t think there’s any reason why he couldn’t make our team coming out of camp [next season].”
Will the team name a captain?
The team will at least have discussions about the *idea* of naming a captain this offseason.
Said Hakstol, “I’m not leaning either way on that. That’s a discussion that I think is a valid discussion to have, as we get into the early part of this offseason.”
Added Francis, “We talked about that as the season went along, looking at naming a captain next year.”
Fans seem to care about this a lot, but we really don’t think it has a huge bearing on the success (or not) of the team. Leaders can lead regardless of if they have a ‘C’ on their jersey.
Contractual items
Francis implied that conversations would be starting very soon with restricted free agents Matty Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen to try to “get something done.” He also indicated the team will have to make a decision on whether or not to qualify Kailer Yamamoto, who has arbitration rights. “If we qualify him, then he can take us to [arbitration].”
It’s just our guess, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Yamamoto is cut loose this offseason.
Meanwhile, Francis was coy about his unrestricted free agents, but we did ask defenseman Justin Schultz about his future.
“It’s still pretty early,” Schultz said. “Obviously, I love it here, and there’s still a lot to be played out. We’ll see what happens over the summer.”
Again, just looking at his fit with the club now that Ryker Evans has mostly proven he’s ready for the NHL, we would expect Seattle to let Schultz move on, but we shall see.
General takeaways
The general mood of the press availabilities was unsurprisingly one of disappointment. The Kraken players expected to still be playing at this point, and they recognized that they could have performed better this season.
“I think maybe we came into the year thinking things were just going to be the same, and we’ll just [make the playoffs] again, and it didn’t turn out that way,” Eberle said. “So I think you’ll see a different team that will come back and try and get back to that point next year.”
The slow start to the season was also a common theme, as was the sharp decrease in scoring. Hakstol had some interesting things to say about the team’s offense in the below video clip.
Now the Kraken players have a full offseason ahead of them to recuperate, train, and marinate on what it’s like to be done playing in April. If nothing else, hopefully we see a quicker start out of the gates in 2024-25.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
The Everett Silvertips were going to need quite the miracle to claw out of the 3-0 hole they dug for themselves against the Portland Winterhawks.
Portland’s endurance would reign superior in Game 4 on Friday, as a furious attack in the second and third periods with five unanswered goals was too much for Everett to overcome. The Winterhawks would wind up with a 5-0 win and take the best-of-seven series 4-0.
Portland will begin the Western Conference Finals on Friday night in Prince George, B.C., facing the Cougars for the right to go to the WHL Finals.
Quick and easy work for Portland…
Games 1 and 2 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum were defensive disasters for the Silvertips, which would be a recurring theme throughout the series.
They were often soft on pucks in the defensive/neutral zones and allowed Portland attackers to find high-danger chances in open ice with ease. Portland took both games by a combined score of 14-3, and carried a 2-0 series lead back to Everett.
Tyler Palmer saw 72 shots in Games 1 and 2 and came out with just a .833 save percentage. While he showed flashes of the Round 1 dominance he demonstrated against the Vancouver Giants, most of the nights during this series, he was relied on to do the bulk of the heavy lifting for the Silvertips. The weight might have been too heavy for him to bear.
Palmer was lifted after 40 minutes in Game 1, replaced by Ethan Chadwick, after allowing six goals on 29 shots.
Game 3 was the biggest jolt of offense for Everett in the series. Back home at Angel of the Winds Arena, the Silvertips jumped up to a 3-0 lead at the start of the second. But a furious comeback from Portland in the second and third, including two goals from Carter Sotheran (along with a lucky bounce), helped the Winterhawks to win 4-3 in overtime.
CARTER SOTHERAN GETS THE BOUNCE AND THE @PDXWINTERHAWKS WIN IN WHOA-VERTIME!
Portland controlled the pace of play for basically the entire series, outside of half of Game 3 on Monday night. Everett scored two or more consecutive goals just once during this series, and Portland continuously mounted surges to wear out Palmer.
Five unanswered goals in Game 4 sealed the series sweep for the Winterhawks. Entrusting their depth was a key during this series for Portland, embodying the mindset in Game 4. Four players had two points in the game, including James Stefan, who had the opening and game-winning goal.
Portland controlled the shot battle in the series, eclipsing 40 in all four games. They outscored the Silvertips at almost a 4:1 rate.
Jan Spunar collected his second career playoff shutout Friday, stopping all 27 Silvertips shots. He finished the series with a remarkable 0.954 save percentage in the four games he started.
What went wrong for the Silvertips…
Injuries decimated the Silvertips big time during these playoffs. Already down Teague Patton heading into Round 1, they would wind up losing another bunch of players to season-ending injuries. Austin Roest, Jesse Heslop, and Tarin Smith all suffered injuries over the Silvertips’ last five playoff games.
The absence of Roest, however, was the real kicker during this series. He led the team in scoring after Round 1 with four goals and three assists. Roest was confirmed to have suffered a lower-body injury during the team’s previous series against the Vancouver Giants, which caused him to miss the entirety of the series against the Winterhawks.
Whether it be at the front of the net or grinding away in the corners, Roest was a large play generator that would make plays happen. He was a player the Silvertips depended on to do anything and everything. Having a consummate leader back in the Everett lineup could have made a world of a difference in making this more of a competitive series. Without him, the Silvertips simply looked lost.
Roest took some time to himself on the bench after the game, potentially signifying his time in Everett being through.
Roest is eligible to return to the WHL for one more season, but since he signed an entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators in early March, they might have other plans for him, including starting next season in the AHL.
Everett plugged Beau Courtney into Roest’s position as a stopgap, and it worked to some degree with him tallying two out of the six goals scored in the series, but there wasn’t a lot of momentum gained from it.
Silvertips bidding their farewells…
Long-time general manager and head coach Dennis Williams oversaw his final game behind the Silvertips bench Friday night and will now move back to his alma mater at Bowling Green State University to become the head coach there.
He was fighting through his emotions post game while reflecting on his tenure in Everett.
“It’s been an unbelievable seven years,” Williams said. “I’ve gotten to coach so many great young men, I got to coach alongside unbelievable coaches, and I couldn’t be more thankful for our opportunity.”
Williams guided the Silvertips to the playoffs in each of his seasons behind the bench, winning three U.S. Division titles and making it as far as the WHL Finals in 2017-18.
“I know that moving forward they’re in a good spot, and they’re going to do everything to put the right pieces in place and continue to keep Everett at the top of the league.”
The Silvertips also had a few more players say their goodbyes to the WHL, as over-agers Parker Berge and the aforementioned Tyler Palmer and Teague Patton finished their tenures in Everett. All three were acquired by Everett via trade during their careers.
“When players come in and when they leave [the WHL], there’s how much they grow on and off the ice,” Williams said. “All three of them had such positive impacts, not only to our group but to every individual in the locker room. They’re the leaders that we rely on.”
As for the Winterhawks…
They are a wagon. With their eighth straight victory, they remain the only unbeaten team left in the WHL playoffs. They outscored the Silvertips 23-6 across the four games while racking up huge shot volumes against Palmer.
Head coach Mike Johnston knows how difficult of a feat winning eight in a row in the playoffs is to achieve.“It’s so hard to sweep a team. It really is, and to do it [in back-to-back series], I give them a lot of credit.”
Johnston said the win on Monday was the jolt Portland needed to close the series out on Friday, saying “those moments in a playoff series are really, really key.”
The Winterhawks were also quite sound defensively, as they hounded the Silvertips into taking low-percentage shots all throughout the series, making it easy on Spunar to swallow up pucks.
Johnston has felt that Spunar has gotten increasingly better and consistent as the playoffs have gone along. He leads the WHL playoffs in wins with eight, top-five in both save percentage and goals-against average, while only allowing six goals during the series.
Seattle Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth had an impressive series as well. He was smart with the puck on his stick, taking valuable offensive initiative, and the results came with him tallying four goals and four assists. His four goals has him tied as the leader for goals by a defenseman in the WHL playoffs.
Portland has proven why they’re one of the premier teams in the WHL time and again this season, and they will be a tough task for Prince George to handle in the Western Conference Finals.
Header photo by Brian Liesse, courtesy Seattle Thunderbirds.
Welcome to the new Sound Of Hockey Kraken Roundtable series. During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, we’re planning to produce several collaborative discussions that reflect on the Kraken’s regular season and look ahead to the upcoming offseason. This first installment, featuring Blaiz Grubic, John Barr, Cameron Riggers, and Darren Brown, serves as our immediate reaction to the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
What was your highlight of the season?
Blaiz – The Winter Classic was my highlight of the season. I actually had low expectations for the Winter Classic going into it, but I really enjoyed seeing 47K fans come out and support the team. Watching Joey Daccord’s glove save with Jack Eichel looking up in frustration has been ingrained in my memory. The first ever Winter Classic shutout was a nice touch, as well, and was a bit of an NHL “I’ve arrived” party for Daccord.
John – The Winter Classic was an unforgettable experience, but since Blaiz already mentioned it, I’ll share my memories of the Colorado-Kraken game in Denver back in November. I was lucky enough to be in attendance that night for my first game at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon had three points in the game, but Oliver Bjorkstrand managed to hammer one home with 30 seconds left that won it for the Kraken. At the time, it felt like a turning point for the season, a huge win that injected some hope.
Darren – I was also in the building for that one, John, and that was also the night Ryan Winterton made his NHL debut. I recall asking him after the game about his no-bucket warm-up, and he told us he got to his stall before the game, and there was no helmet there, so that’s when he decided he wouldn’t wear it. You’re right, that was an awesome night.
But, yeah, there’s simply no denying that the Winter Classic was the moment of the season. I’ll never forget the beginning of that game with fish flying over the players’ heads as they walked in to a live performance from Sir Mix-A-Lot, helicopters flying over with guys dangling below them, fireworks… the whole bit was incredible, and the game was even better. I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it.
Cameron – Agreed, the Winter Classic was undoubtedly the high point of the season. It wasn’t just the immaculate atmosphere of the day celebrating the game of hockey in Seattle, but the team itself put everything together on that day, and it felt like that gave the Kraken another boost to continue on their nine-game win streak.
Everything about that day was pristine, and I think it will be the fondest memory of this season for Seattle fans for years to come. My only regret is not getting to be there in person.
And come on, Heart doing Barracuda? Live? There’s no beating that.
What was the lowlight of the season?
Blaiz – I’ll say Andre Burakovsky getting hurt six minutes after coming back from missing 20 games. The Kraken had a rough start to the season and were sitting with an 8-12-6 record. Coming into the Dec. 7 game against New Jersey, the Kraken were on a five-game skid and desperately needed Burakovsky to help generate some offense. He was injured again, and the skid continued to eight games.
John – Unfortunately, this season was filled with lowlights, but one that stands out to me is the team’s icy start. With just five wins in their first 17 games, they struggled to find their rhythm. Expectations were perhaps unfairly lofty after last season’s impressive 100-point effort, and the early slump meant an uphill battle for the rest of the season. Despite briefly holding a wild card spot on a couple of occasions, they couldn’t maintain momentum, and as injuries piled up, the gap became too vast to bridge.
Cameron – Like John mentioned, it’s hard to pick just one moment in a season where it felt like, at points, things couldn’t get any lower and still somehow got lower. But if I had to pick one, the 2-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 30 was about the lowest you could have gotten at that point in the season.
They lost to not only the worst team in the NHL this season, but quite frankly one of the worst in NHL history (which they would wind up doing twice, by the way), and they did it at a critical point in the season where it was so important to be stringing together wins against teams they were supposed to be beating. For them being two points out of a playoff spot at the time, it was the most deflating way they could’ve gone into the All-Star break.
Darren – I’m surprised nobody picked this one, but I guess there were quite a few lowlights, now that you all remind me of these terrible instances (thanks for ruining my beautiful Friday). The 5-4 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on March 12 was the straw that broke the camel’s back for this club and sent it spiraling out of contention. Seattle had a two-goal lead that night, before Vegas fought back and got the tying goal from Jonathan Marchessault with 17 seconds left. Jack Eichel won it in overtime, and from that night on, we just didn’t see the same effort from the Kraken. They knew they were cooked at that point.
What was your favorite moment of the season?
Blaiz – Saturday, Jan. 13, was the day the Kraken set franchise records with a nine-game win streak and 13-game unbeaten streak. The Kraken had a 19-14-9 record and looked poised to make a run at the playoffs. Everything was looking up, and it was a great feeling.
John – The Winter Classic was truly extraordinary. I’ve mentioned it before, but on the NHL to Seattle journey, we used to dream about hosting a Winter Classic in Seattle long before the team even existed here. It was a day that couldn’t have been more perfect, a monumental celebration of hockey in the Pacific Northwest. Even now, just thinking about it gives me chills.
Cameron – It’s hard to go with anything other than the Winter Classic, but for me personally, my favorite moment was my first game at Climate Pledge Arena on Nov. 25. It’s every hockey kid’s dream to make it to the NHL, and I felt like I got to live out that dream that night as a media member. There were so many moments and memories from that day I’ll never forget, and I owe a lot to the people that have helped me to get to this point.
For the team specifically, I’ll pick Feb. 15 at Boston, as it was so cool watching Joey Daccord and Matty Beniers light up the arena they both essentially grew up in. Daccord had 36 saves, and Beniers had three points, and it was the best the team looked after the break.
Darren – Again, this is obviously the Winter Classic, but since we’ve hit that one hard at this point, I’ll go with Seattle’s 4-3 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 18. I made the trip for that one, along with Curtis Isacke and a couple other folks, and we had an absolute blast. It was my first time ever attending a game as a fan (not as media), so I let loose with a few college sodas, we had great seats, and it was just an awesome game. I started an extremely loud “Let’s go Kraken!” chant on my way out of Rogers Arena and was convinced I was going to get jumped. Thankfully, Canadians are friendly foes.
Who was your favorite player to watch this season?
Blaiz – Alex Wennberg was my favorite player to watch this season, even though he was traded to the New York Rangers at the Trade Deadline. Wennberg was the first Kraken jersey in my collection of 10 jerseys (my wife thinks I have a problem, and she probably is right). Wennberg’s play on the boards has always been a treat to watch.
John – I love watching Oliver Bjorkstrand play. He ended the season with 20 goals and was second on the team with 59 points. He comes up with some big goals when the team really needs them and was one of the few consistent producers season over season.
Cameron – As a Spokane native that grew up going to Spokane Chiefs games, getting to watch Kailer Yamamoto as a pro in Seattle has been one of my favorite full-circle moments of the season. Seeing what he meant to that community firsthand, and knowing the people there got to watch one of their own shine on the biggest stage was amazing. Not many players get to do that in their home state. Yamamoto was also the first Kraken player I got to ask a question to, which added to the lore.
Darren – I’m biased toward goalies, but Joey Daccord was my favorite player to watch and talk to this season. He is just the best dude, and seeing his meteoric rise to stardom this season was incredible. From his scorpion save in Washington, which caused Chris Driedger to do this…
…to his Winter Classic heroics, there were a lot of bright spots for Daccord. But let’s not forget, this team wouldn’t have even sniffed the playoffs if he didn’t put it on his back and carry the group through that nine-game win streak. Plus, how fun is his puck handling? What if he had gotten the goalie goal on Thursday?
Man, if Joey Daccord had scored the goalie goal tonight…
